Life's Little Surprises
by Rosethorn2
Summary: AU! Shounen ai! Mamoru is learning to let go after Usagi's death, and Seiya is more than willing to help. REVISED EDITION!
1. A Parting, a Meeting, and a Party

**Notes as of 4/1/08: **I had to write a story for my college creative writing class, and drew inspiration (and heavy dialogue), from this story here. So I decided to incorporate what I had put together back into the story and post it from there. So all the chapters will be slightly revised, and the new story that I wrote will be posted on my website.

**Notes:** Ok. My best friend challenged me to write a Sailor Moon shounen ai/yaoi fic with Seiya and Mamoru as the pairing. Since I can't back down from creative challenges, I took her up on it. This is what came of it.

**Warnings:** Shounen ai!! For those of you who have no clue what that means…it literally means "boy love". If the idea of two guys kissing—each other—then this is not the story for you! If you choose to continue reading with disregard for this message, then it is on your heads! Be forewarned as well: there is character death in the very beginning. It will end happy and fluffy etc, etc, but it'll have its angsty moments too. Please note one last thing: this fic is an AU! That means there are no Sailor Scouts; Luna and Artemis are human, and the Three Lights are _just_ a _music group_!

**Warnings addendum: **All right. I've gotten one review that bothered me a bit, so I thought I'd post an addendum here. _**THIS STORY IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE!!**_ I don't care if you think that I'm nuts. I clearly stated that this was an AU in the paragraph above. I'll address later issues that were contained within the review at a later date, but suffice it to say, READ THE WARNINGS! I don't write them because I think they're a great thrill to read; I post them because I don't want to see reviews complaining about a way I handled something that was clearly addressed previously. Yeesh.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon. Moreover, I never _will_ own SM (any of the series). I own absolutely nothing!

Life's Little Surprises  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 1: A Parting, a Meeting, and a Party

"Usako," Mamoru whispered brokenly as Usagi's breathing became more and more labored. He longed to brush back her golden bangs, but they had been a casualty of the chemotherapy. He instead bent down to kiss her forehead. His fiancée, Tsukino Usagi had been recently diagnosed with leukemia, and while it had appeared that the radiation and chemotherapy had been taking effect, the cancer had suddenly become more vicious, slowly killing his beautiful Usako. In the last few weeks, it had been particularly bad, and Mamoru feared the end was very, very close. He had waited anxiously for the doctor's prognosis, which turned out to be a rather grim one.

"I'd give her one month at most. Less, if the cancer continues to grow at a rapid rate like this. I'm sorry," had been the devastating words spoken to him. Those words destroyed his whole world. He had, afterwards, stayed in Usagi's room, refusing to leave. The nurses left him alone after the first day, seeing the desperation on his face. That was three days previous. Today however, had started off as a good day; Usagi's energy was rather high, and her color was quite good. She had smiled and laughed. There had been one somber moment when Usagi had asked a rather startling question.

"Ne, Mamo-chan?" she queried. "If something happens, will our souls still find each other?" Mamoru had taken her hand in his then, and had promised that they would. Their souls would _always _find each other, no matter how far apart. She had smiled then, and the mood became light-hearted once more. Mamoru had begun to regain hope, only to have it dashed towards the evening. She began to have trouble breathing, each breath becoming a painful exercise. At one point, she lost consciousness.

After a frantic call to the nurse, the doctor arrived to examine her. He then turned to Mamoru with a sad expression. Mamoru didn't need to hear any words from the doctor's mouth. He knew it in his bones. It was time. It was her time to leave him. The doctor instructed to nurse to give Usagi's pain medication, then make sure that no one disturbed the couple unless she was called. Usagi had regained consciousness in time to hear this order and had smiled sadly. She reached out a frail, trembling hand to the nurse, whose eyes were beginning to tear.

"Arigatou (Thank you) for everything," she whispered, causing the nurse to stifle a sob. She nodded quickly and left the room. Usagi turned her cornflower-blue eyes to Mamoru. He had taken her other hand in his. She smiled again, tears reaching her eyes.

"Aishiteru (I love you), Usako…" Mamoru whispered again, tears still held within his eyes. He lifted the hand he held to his lips, kissing the knuckles tenderly. She nodded, before taking another shaky breath.

"M-Mamo-chan…A-aishiteru, Mamo-chan…" She managed before her breathing stilled, and her eyes close. Mamoru's head bowed, tears falling down his cheeks freely. He listened to the steady whine of Usagi's heart monitors, stating for the world that his soul mate had left. He carefully took his hand out of her lifeless one, and gently pulled the bed sheet up, covering her face. The doctor, who had been waiting at the door, came in and talked with Mamoru about transport of the body. Mamoru barely registered the conversation, grief too deep to really comprehend anything else.

The funeral had been a somber one. Usagi had many friends, but only eight of them were considered close. Those eight had taken it rather hard, as they were her self-proclaimed defenders. Mizuno Ami, who would help Usagi all the way through school, and would patiently wait for Usagi's temper to cool instead of yelling; Hino Rei, who was Usagi's co-conspirator in crime, and would make sure that Usagi thought her actions through; Kino Makoto, Usagi's "chef" and one of her staunchest protectors. Makoto was the one when anyone hurt Usagi, would go and make that person repent—very fast; Aino Minako, the one who introduced Usagi to Mamoru in the first place, the one who would listen to Usagi's tales of woe, and cheered her up by acting ridiculous; Tomoe Hotaru, the precocious little girl dying of cancer herself, who Usagi gave bone marrow to, and saved her life; Meiou Setsuna, her boss, who had been a second mother figure to Usagi; Kaiou Michiru, the one Usagi would turn to when she and her other friends were fighting; and last, Ten'ou Haruka, Usagi's other fierce protector. Between Makoto and Haruka, no one ever hurt Usagi—rather, no one ever hurt her and had anything to reproduce with afterwards.

Her family was also there, her mother, father, and younger brother. As they listened to the eulogy and put the flowers on her coffin, all that was flowing through Mamoru's mind had been that earlier conversation with Usagi.

"Ne, Mamo-chan? If something happens, will our souls still find each other?"

_"Of course, they will, Usako. No matter how far, I promise they will find each other."_

_"I'm glad."_

* * *

"BEEP! BEEP!" an alarm chimed insistently in a quiet bedroom.

"Ugh," a low moan escaped from underneath a music-note patterned blanket. A hand worked its way from under the covers and felt around blindly for the snooze button on the Annoyance. Not finding it, a head appeared looking around—bleary-eyed—for where it had moved _this_ time.

"Curse Taiki and his sadistic sense of humor!" he cursed under his breath. Taiki, after he had slept in one too many times, decided to buy him an alarm clock that moved whenever you hit the snooze button. He looked around for a moment more where the clock had traveled before just giving up. He pulled the covers back over his head, determined to ignore the persistent beeping, only to have it shoot back out after a loud pounding on the door to the bedroom.

"_Seiya_!!" yelled a rather annoyed voice. Yaten Kou, Seiya's "brother." He, Seiya, and his other "brother" Taiki Kou all lived together—mainly because all three formed the famous boy band "Three Lights." They weren't related, but all three shared the same last name—by some fluke of nature as Yaten liked to remind Seiya. The words "I would be horribly disgraced to be related to _you_" were heard rather frequently. Taiki, the straight-man of the group, usually had to drag Seiya bodily away from Yaten when those fights began.

"_SEIYA_!! Get your lazy ass _out_ of bed, _**now**_!!" The thumping had now grown to kicking the door. Seiya was starting to worry about the poor door collapsing from the continued treatment. He knew that Yaten was one of those morning people. It was some kind of mutation, to be sure, and he was tired of his friend's persistent urge to force that Unholiness which is Morning on everyone else.

"Yeah, yeah," he groaned, pulling back the bedding. "I'm getting up, Yaten, sheesh! Don't get your curlers in a knot!" He could sense the daggers being glared through the door. Yaten was rather sensitive of his effeminate looks—which were only enhanced by his long, platinum blond hair. So of course Seiya had to tease him about it. He stumbled around getting dressed, and was quite proud of the fact that he only banged his foot into the closet door twice.

"Since you have conveniently forgotten, Seiya…" Uh oh, Yaten had gone for reinforcements. Taiki was the only one of the three that could make Seiya feel guilty. Maybe it was the fact that the other man had three years on him, or the fact that for all Taiki was the "responsible" one, he had a very…inventive way of getting you to do what you needed to do. Hence the alarm clock from hell. "We _do_ have a charity concert today in…an hour." Seiya's eyes widened as he flung open the door, face landing straight into Taiki's chest. He looked up at elder, rubbing his nose.

"An _hour_?!" He paused, noticing the twinkle in Taiki's eyes. "Oh, shut up," he muttered, realizing he'd been had, and stomped past his friend down to the kitchen. Looking around the hall on his way, Seiya noticed that Yaten had mysteriously vanished. Shrugging, he set about getting himself something for breakfast—lunch, he amended after looking at the clock, since it was past noon. Taiki followed, and told him that Yaten had gone to do whatever it was that Yaten did. Seiya felt better not knowing. He opted on a leftover sandwich—the only edible thing in the 'fridge.

"Moa fu'y by va way, Faifi," he said through his sandwich. Taiki raised an eyebrow, and Seiya rolled his eyes and swallowed. "Not funny by the way, Taiki," he repeated.

"I have no idea what you mean." Seiya glared, reaching into the fridge for the carton of milk. Opening it, he raised it to his lips before spotting Taiki out of the corner of his eye, giving him the Look. Sighing, he trudged over to the cupboard and pulled down a glass. Waving it slightly at the taller man (so as to say "See? I got a glass. Happy?"), he poured the milk and put it back in the fridge.

"Don't play dumb, Taiki. You can't pull it off. I may be able to, but not you." He noticed Taiki opening his mouth. "Rhetorical statement. Say nothing." Taiki laughed. Still glowering at his friend, Seiya took a sip of his milk before continuing. "Anyways. Not funny about telling me we had a concert in an hour. You know how seriously I take those! I was worried I forgot to set my alarm for one when you said that!" Taiki looked at him evenly, and Seiya could sense a Very Important Talk about to commence.

"You really need to start learning to wake up at normal times of the day, Seiya," his friend began. "It's unhealthy to stay up 'til two a.m. and then sleep 'til one p.m." Seiya rolled his eyes. It was an old argument that Taiki liked to trot out whenever he felt the need to be older-brother-y. While he appreciated the elder's concern, Seiya could most definitely live without the nagging sometimes.

"Yes, Dad," He simpered back. "I promise I'll play nice with the other boys and girls at school, Dad." Taiki narrowed his eyes in contemplation. Seiya hated that look sometimes. It spelled DOOM in all capital letters, doom that would be visited on the one who was too smart-assed and too stupid to know when to keep his mouth shut. Which was why he was mildly surprised when Taiki only motioned to the pantry.

"By the way, it's your turn to cook tonight…you might want to go out and restock our supplies," Taiki said, lacing his hands behind his red-brown hair and reclined (not slouched, _reclined_, as Taiki never did anything as plebian as "slouch") back onto his chair.

"It was my turn last night!" Taiki merely looked at him. Sighing again, Seiya hoisted himself up from the counter he was perched on to see what they had in the way of foodstuffs. After looking over their meager pantry (10 cans of caviar, a bottle of soy sauce, and a can of tomato soup that Seiya had sworn was there when _they_ had moved in), he cautiously peeked in the fridge to see if there was anything to be had. He opted not to check the expiration dates on some of the more "colorful" items in favor of going to the store. He turned to Taiki.

"No," the brunet stated before Seiya could even open his mouth.

"But—"

"No."

"_Taiki_—"

"No." Seiya shot his friend a dirty look.

"Be that way. I like walking. It gives me good exercise." He dramatically walked to the door, making sure to plaster a huge, obviously phony smile on his face the whole way. Taiki was still laughing by the time the door closed.

* * *

"Let's see…" Mamoru murmured, looking at the shelves. "Miso, miso, miso…" He soon got a rather disgusted look on his face. "What kind of grocery store doesn't carry miso soup?!" he asked aloud.

"A rather pathetic one, I'd say," came the response behind him. Mamoru whirled in time to see a girl about his age standing before him. A rather pretty girl at that, his mind told him appreciatively, which stunned him. He hadn't looked at another girl since meeting—best cut that thought off there. Mentally shaking his head to clear it, he grinned at the joke.

"I would concur." The girl laughed and continued on her way down the aisle. He could hear her muttering things like "damn Taiki" and "why couldn't Yaten like tomato soup". He had to stifle a laugh of his own before returning to the rather frustrating search for the apparently non-existent miso soup. Well, at least the non-existent _white_ miso soup. Heaven forefend that Motoki have _red_ miso soup! Oh no, it _has_ to be white.

The next time Motoki asks me for a favor, Mamoru thought sourly, I'm going to tell him where he can put it, best friend or no. He turned and continued down the aisle to where the deli was. He picked up some sushi, telling himself that if his friend didn't like it, he could damn well go out and get the miso soup himself. On his way back to the check stand, he thought about the girl in the aisle-way, although he didn't understand _why_ he kept thinking about her. He really hadn't looked at _anyone_ that way before…at least, not for many, many years. Thinking about the last time he did always brought heartache, but it had become slightly more bearable over the last five years.

Finishing at the checkout stand, he walked towards his friend's home, knowing that Motoki would cheer him up like always. Motoki had been his friend since middle school, and was the one to help him pull through after…Yes, Motoki was a great friend. So were the girls, come to think of it. All eight of them. They had adopted him in…

"Mamoru!!" He heard a shout, which thankfully took him away from his thoughts. He looked up to see a raven head of hair come flying at him. He braced himself for impact, but still swayed slightly when Rei crashed into him. He hugged the woman tightly, before releasing her.

"Rei! What are you doing here? You live _miles_ away!" Rei shrugged.

"All of us wanted to see each other, and it was one of those rare times when we all had vacation, so here I am!" She smiled brightly. "Miss me?" Mamoru pretended to be seriously pondering the question, while Rei elbowed him, laughing. "Jerk. Oi, the others are here too! We all decided to gather at Motoki's, since he invited us and all…not to mention that Mako-chan's his wife…" Mamoru started shaking his head in admiration.

"No wonder Motoki was so eager to get me out of the house," he said ruefully. "I should have known." Rei quickly grabbed his arm and started running in the direction of Motoki's house. Upon reaching it, the sight that greeted him was a rather large banner reading "Happy Birthday, Mamoru!". His mouth dropped open.

"My…You…" He couldn't find the words to express himself, so contented himself with letting his mouth hang open in shock. Motoki snuck up behind him.

"Catching flies?" he asked dryly. Mamoru whirled, and hugged his best friend tightly.

"Thank you, Motoki. Thank you." The man in question patted his back.

"Anytime." After releasing him, Mamoru held out the bag.

"Oh, and Motoki?" Motoki raised an eyebrow.

"Next time you need miso soup, go and get it yourself." Motoki threw back his head and laughed.

* * *

So there it is, the somewhat revised version. It may be further revised at a later date. Please review with questions, concerns, etc.

Rosethorn


	2. Surprise?

**Notes:** This is a mix between Japanese and American culture. I don't live in Japan; the closest I've been is the International District in Seattle.

**Warnings:** AU, shounen ai—and if I get flamed for that in this chapter, then y'all really don't bother with warnings—some angst, sap, humor, etc.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it.

Life's Little Surprises  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 2: Surprise?

"I think I met someone today," Seiya said as he poured the macaroni pasta into the boiling water. He had, after cursing his two roommates, decided to cook something relatively simple: macaroni and cheese. Of course, he'd make it from scratch, as Yaten didn't like the "fattening junk" in boxed macaroni (personally, Seiya didn't care one way or the other; food was food). He heard Taiki snort behind him. Turning, he fixed the brunet with a wary expression. "What?"

"You meet people every day," Taiki remarked dryly, raising an eyebrow. "It's part of life. Scientifically, it is impossible to not meet people because of the high birth rate—one per minute and all that." The singer rolled his eyes and turned back to the cheese, which needed to be grated. It was hard to say colloquial statements around Taiki. He liked to deliberately misinterpret the statement for literal fact, and then pick it apart—usually with long words that Seiya didn't understand.

"You know what I meant," he replied. Taiki folded his arms and leaned back on the counter opposite the grater. "I met someone that I wouldn't mind meeting again."

"Ah. A new friend perhaps?" At Seiya's glare, the brunet chuckled softly before relenting. "Okay, okay. So does this new man have a name?"

"How do you know it's a guy?" Seiya protested mildly. "I'm bi, thank you very much. It _could_ be a girl—"

"Please. You've not dated a girl since…since high school at least—" Yaten broke in, coming into the kitchen, several bags in hand. Seiya sometimes wondered about Yaten's propensity to shop. It was unhealthy. There were mobs of Angry People who were all waiting in line for the newest and greatest doodad or widget. Maybe it was like cocaine: one adrenaline fix and you're hooked. He'd rather jump off buildings.

"Which was just _three_ years ago, I'll have you know!" he interrupted the blond. "And you were checking out guys right along with me in homeroom, remember?" Yaten sniffed disdainfully. Out of the corner of his eye, Seiya noticed Taiki settle at the table with a rather large book open in front of him. It had been five minutes and the page hadn't turned.

"And _how_ many boyfriends have you had since then?" Yaten asked coolly.

"Sev—shut up!" the other man snapped, turning his attention back to his grating, imagining Yaten's smirking face was the cheese being grated. Funny how that made him feel better.

"My work here is done," Yaten said. "I'm off—"

"Got that right," Seiya muttered to the cheese.

"—To my room to offload this stuff," the blond finished, glaring. He turned and exited the kitchen, leaving Taiki and Seiya alone once again. The page turned, and so did Taiki. Back towards Seiya, who had decided to pretend he was alone in the kitchen.

"So, does this 'person' have a name?" he asked the neck facing him. He couldn't see its owner's rather sheepish smile towards the half-grated cheese. He heard it in Seiya's tone however.

"Um…forgot to ask? He was kind of—"

"A_ha_! It _was_ a guy!!" Yaten interrupted yet again, having finished "putting away his purchases" (read: he dumped them on his bed, to be stuffed in the closet come nightfall).

"—Busy looking for white miso soup, which the store was conveniently out of," Seiya finished, ignoring the other man entirely. Yaten snorted derisively, walking over to the boiling pasta. Dipping a spoon in, he brought one of the macaronis up to his mouth and noticed that it was still fairly crunchy.

"About five minutes, I'd say," he informed the man beside him calmly. Seiya made a face.

"Thanks ever-so much. I really couldn't have done it without you," he replied sarcastically. Yaten smiled and reached up to pat the top of Seiya's head, who scowled.

"I know, dear," he returned sweetly. "That's why I decided to help." Seiya snorted before using the wooden spoon beside the pot of pasta to bat at Yaten's hand.

"Watch it, princess, or I'll give you a new manicure with the grater." Taiki snickered at the puce color that Yaten's face began to turn. He was however, getting rather tired of his reading being interrupted by the pair's bickering. Deciding to intervene, he made sure he gained both Seiya and Yaten's attention.

"Now, Seiya, you know that the macaroni and cheese would be ruined by the nail polish on Yaten's fingernails." Pretending not to see Yaten's rather reddish complexion, he continued. "And, Yaten, you know that Seiya has difficulty enough cooking without you annoying him enough to add extra, unneeded ingredients." He walked through the kitchen door into the living room for—hopefully—some peace and quiet, completely ignoring the two rather nasty glares directed at his back. Yaten looked at Seiya.

"Let me know which one's his, will you? I want to spit in it."

* * *

"I think I met someone today," Mamoru said nonchalantly, while reaching for another piece of sushi. He was greeted with the sound of nine sets of plates dropping, then silence. He continued eating, reaching to grab the soy sauce. Motoki was the one to recover first.

"Y-you _met_ someone?! _You_?! Mr. Bachelor, himself?!" he made a great show of cleaning out his ears, which earned him a smack alongside the head from his wife.

"That's terrific, Mamoru!" Makoto said, smiling warmly. "Did you get a name? What does she look like?" The others, with the exception of Hotaru, Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna all chimed in, wanting to know details. He ducked his head and blushed before getting a rather sheepish expression on his face.

"Well…erm…I didn't get her name…" It was his turn to get smacked upside the head by Ami. "Oi! I was looking for that damn miso soup!" he protested. "Not only that, she was busy shopping for herself after we had exchanged words." He chuckled lightly. "It was funny really, she was cursing two relatives, or friends, or something, because she kept muttering something about two different individuals being rather picky eaters. I almost walked up to her and told her I could relate," he said, shooting Motoki a rather pointed look. Motoki merely rolled his eyes.

"So, what did she look like?" demanded Minako, who was sitting three seats down. Her blond hair bounced along with her as she thumped the table. "I want _details_!"

"Gee, thanks, Mina-chan," Makoto drawled, mopping up her skirt from where a can of soda had jumped and spilled—from Minako's enthusiastic demand. "Appreciate having to clean before dinner is over. You're too kind, really." Mina's blue eyes showed a sincere apology, as a sheepish grin of her own crossed her face.

"Sorry about that." Turning back to Mamoru, she regained the rather demented gleam in her eyes. "Now, Mamoru…_details_!" Holding up his hands to stave off an attack, Mamoru decided the best course of action was to probably give Minako what she wanted.

"Well…she was smaller than I am, but not that small. I'd say about, oh, five foot, seven inches. About Usako's…height…" he trailed off, staring down at his plate. Ami laid a comforting hand on his arm, while Makoto tried to fend off tears of her own. It was Haruka who broke the silence.

"Now, Mamoru, we worked hard to provide you a birthday party," she said with mock-severity. "The least you could do next time, is make sure that all leaks are fixed when we come!" That earned her a smack on the arm from her partner, Michiru, and watery chuckles from both Mamoru and Makoto. He nodded, sadness dissipating. For all people tended to say that Haruka disliked Mamoru greatly, she was the one with the most understanding of how he worked. She knew the exact thing to say to bring him up or down. If it weren't for the fact that she was obviously very much in love with her partner, and the fact that he'd probably wake up dead if he even suggested it, Mamoru would have seriously considered dating Haruka.

"Yes, yes. Sorry," he said, bowing his head meekly, earning a round of laughter at the table. "Now, to continue. The mysterious female also had very long black hair in a ponytail. It reached almost to her knees. She had the most beautiful violet-blue eyes…like the sky at dusk. Her voice was deep for a woman, but it suited her just the same…" he trailed off. Makoto noted his some-what dreamy expression and exchanged a look with her husband. One that clearly said, "I don't believe I'm seeing him actually _attracted_ to someone". It had been five years since Usagi's death, and Mamoru had been suicidal for two of those years. After finally getting him past _that_ hurtle, they had given up on him ever finding anyone and moving on with his life, because any woman would have _some_ trait that reminded him of Usagi, and the relationship was killed before it began. The fact that he _still_ was attracted to this woman, even after a "Usagi Moment"—as they dubbed them—was a definite point in her favor. Now came the easy part—finding this woman again in the city of 10,000+ people. Piece of cake, really.

* * *

It had been a rather long day for the Three Lights. Two charity concerts and an autographing session, not to mention to 100-meter dash to get away from the hordes, made for a rather tired group. Yaten was the worst off, hating most strenuous activity, except swimming, with Taiki following a close second. They weren't _out_ of shape by any means, just not as fit as Seiya who, despite complaining frequently about walking places, quite enjoyed to walk and run—as well as any other for of sport. He did have a fear of water however—he liked to claim that it was an Unnatural Thing to float on something but still be able to sink and die at the same time. Consequently, he would become rather ill whenever he had to sail anywhere, a fact that Yaten loved to tease him about.

They had run into an arcade—a rather stupid move, Yaten had later pointed out, considering just what age group tended to frequent arcades—but amazingly, no one had been inside. Making their way over to the soda counter, they waited patiently for someone to show up to take their orders…and waited…and waited. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Taiki got up to see if there was a bell anywhere for them to ring that they might have missed on their mad dash inside. He was dimly aware of Yaten and Seiya's debates over who would do the best at the newest Street Fighter, and shook his head at their oft-times very childish behavior. Noticing a bell, he cautiously pressed it, relieved to find that it wasn't overly noisy. His ears were rather sensitive after the second concert, with all the screaming and crying and wailing and—

"I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Can I help you?" Taiki jumped slightly, noticing the man in front of him. Taiki, liking to know everything about everyone and the surroundings, noted the man's name was "Motoki" from the tag on his uniform.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you can. We'd like three sundaes please. Make one with vanilla with chocolate syrup and the other two—Oi!" he called over to the duo at the games. They both looked back at him with twin expressions of innocence, making Taiki wonder just _what_ they had been doing. He opted for the path of least resistance. "You guys going to come over here and order your sundaes?" Within seconds, Seiya was standing next to Taiki, with Yaten right at his heels, much to the amusement of the man behind the counter. Seiya beamed.

"Aw, you're so good to me, Taiki," he simpered, earning a rather disgusted look from the brunet. Laughing softly, he eyed his choices before deciding on mint chocolate chip with chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Yaten shot him a rather amused look for the last choice, but also ordered sprinkles on his sundae (strawberry with butterscotch—which Seiya promptly gagged over). Motoki at this point was almost on the floor, trying to restrain his laughter. He quickly passed out the sundaes and started cleaning the small drops of ice cream that had managed to get on the counters. It was then that all four men were in for a bit of a shock.

"Oi, Motoki! Where are you?" a black head popped out from the doorway, eyes dancing with amusement. He heard the clatter of metal hitting dishes, and turned his head in time to see…her. "O-oh!" He stuttered, trying to calm his racing heart. "I didn't realize you had customers, Motoki…" Motoki looked between the trio at the counter and the rather pole-axed man in his doorway.

"You know them, Mamoru?" he asked finally, trying to figure out why his normally unflappable friend was standing there acting like he and Makoto had decided to put on a strip show for him. Mamoru shook his head.

"We've met in passing," Seiya said finally, managing to stop choking on his ice cream. Motoki's gaze snapped to the younger man, comprehension dawning on his face.

"Ah! I see!" With that, he walked over to the doorway, pulled Mamoru to the counter, and proceeded with the introductions on his end. "My name—as you can see—is Motoki, and this is my friend Mamoru. You are?" Seiya smiled nervously, but offered no introductions. Honestly, he didn't trust his voice to work right without having problems that he _thought_ had been left behind at puberty. He looked over to Yaten, who stared back. Sighing, he sent a Pleading Look over to Taiki. The brunet rolled his eyes at the sheer idiocy of the moment before making the introductions.

"My name is Taiki, that one there with the blond hair is Yaten, and the one on the end," he said, motioning to Seiya. "is Seiya. Pleasure to meet you both." Mamoru nodded dumbly, trying to get his brain functioning again. Absently he noticed something different about Seiya that had also niggled at his brain the last time. He _still_ couldn't figure out what it was his mind was trying to tell him about the beautiful girl before him. All five jumped when they heard a squeal from the doorway. The three in front of the counter poised themselves to run, the two behind the counter spun to face a shocked Minako at the doorway.

"Motoki-kun, you didn't tell me you had the '_Three Lights_' over here!!" she exclaimed, stars in her eyes. Motoki and Mamoru's gaze slowly went back to the three in front of them.

"The 'Three…Lights'?" Mamoru asked finally, comprehension dawning on what was different about Seiya. "You—you're a—" At this, Yaten burst out laughing, jabbing the blushing man beside him in the ribs, who was giving his friend a very Evil Glare of Doom.

"Not funny, Yaten!" The blond only laughed harder.

"After all the times you've made fun of me for being girly?! It's hilarious!!" he crowed, only to have his ponytail harshly yanked by Taiki. Looking up, Yaten noticed that the brunet's face was quite serious, as he motioned to Seiya and Mamoru with his eyes, Seiya's eyes holding a rather embarrassed expression, Mamoru's with a shocked one. Taiki then whispered in Yaten's ear.

"When has being mistaken for a girl _ever_ bothered Seiya before?" Yaten thought about it before replying.

"Never…does this mean it's serious?" Taiki nodded and then pointed out that Mamoru seemed to not know what to do about the whole situation, which meant that there was a good chance that he was not exactly of Seiya's…persuasion.

While this exchange was taking place, Mamoru's heart was sinking. His beautiful girl turned out to be a rather pretty _boy_. But…he _still_ was attracted to her—him, which made no sense, as far as he was concerned. The fact that Seiya was a boy should have been something that would have killed all sense of attraction…but it seemed only to _enhance_ it! Shaking his head to clear it, Mamoru decided that he would, for the moment, try to get out of this rather embarrassing situation by stating that he needed to leave. As he was leaving, Seiya jumped up and ran after him.

"Hey! Wait, please!!" he yelled, cursing as he tripped over a stool in his haste to catch up. Mamoru stopped and turned, fixing his eyes in a rather intimidating, cold stare.

"Yes?" Seiya swallowed audibly.

"Um…Look, I know my gender was probably unexpected, but we can still meet and everything, right? I mean…we got along well in the store, and it'd be nice to at least be friends and everything, ne? I mean, sure you can—" Mamoru, to his amazement, began to chuckle.

"Okay, okay, I get the idea. You'd like to be friends. I can handle friends, but keep something in mind: I'm not your type." Even while he was stating it, Mamoru's mind disagreed, causing him to rather violently tell it where it could go. He glanced over to Seiya, who nodded.

"Straight as an arrow. Got it. Can we start over then?" At Mamoru's nod, he stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Seiya Kou. I'm 21 years old and am in a group called the Three Lights." Smiling, Mamoru took his hand, only to gasp softly at the electric shock between them. A gasp which was echoed by Seiya.

"Ch-Chiba Mamoru. 29 and am a professor at the university." Deciding to be daring, Seiya brought Mamoru's hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.

"Charmed, I'm sure," he whispered.

* * *

Here's revised chapter 2. Oh! And I will be keeping any and all review responses that I've written in each chapter.

Rosethorn

**Thank you's:**

**Athena Kyle: **Thank you! I'm glad that you like the whole bit with the birthday and all. With Usa-chan dying…I couldn't conceive a way for her to stay alive and not turn out super-nasty about the whole Seiya thing, so I decided that she should remain un-bastardized…so I killed her off (sweatdrops). I really didn't want her to be bastardized…I like Usagi. I'm glad you like the whole Motoki and Mako thing! I've always wanted them to end up together!!

**Clemen:** Thank you!! I know it's rare…Like I said before, I was challenged by my Sailor Moon obsessed friend to write this. She told me that if I could make it work, she would be amazed. So I'm making it work. Traditionally, I'm a Seiya and Usagi couple-type person, so this is a bit of a stretch…rather, a _lot_ of a stretch.


	3. Red and Purple

**Notes:** I wanted to be sure everyone was aware of the whole thing with Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki's first name: Kou. That's right, ladies and gents, Seiya Kou's first name is Kou. Funny, huh? Guess Takeuchi-sensei thought it'd be funny.

**Special Text:** _Italics_ as a single word means emphasis _Italics as sentences_ mean thoughts

**Warnings:** AU, shounen ai (boys kissing boys, people)—got a problem, click the "back" button.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Rather, I don't own Sailor Moon. I own my computer and my cats and—you get the idea.

Life's Little Surprises  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 3: Red and Purple

"Wait—_what_?!" Makoto exclaimed, trying to make sense of what the bouncing, blonde female in front of her was saying. Minako shook her head in exasperation. She hadn't been able to believe her eyes when she had seen her idols, the Three Lights, sitting in _Crown Arcade_ of all places! Eating _ice cream_, no less!! It was definitely her day. It was made even better by the fact that Mamoru _knew_ Seiya Kou! How surreal was that? But the really terrific part was where it was revealed that _Seiya-sama_ had been the "girl" that Mamoru had met!

"I told you, Seiya-sama kissed his hand, and Mamoru turned bright red and ran away." Makoto shook her head again.

"So the girl that Mamoru met was really Seiya Kou?" she asked, puzzled. At Minako's slow nod, she frowned. "And then Seiya kissed Mamoru?"

"On the hand, yes," Minako replied, starting to lose patience. "Look, Mako-chan, it's not rocket science. Mamoru was attracted to Seiya-sama in the store, but thought that he was really a girl. Seiya-sama was attracted to Mamoru, and kissed Mamoru's hand when they were introduced. Mamoru lost it and ran away. End of story so far." Still puzzled, Makoto nodded, deciding that just nodding and smiling would be the best course of action in this case, as Minako could start getting rather nasty when she was annoyed.

"Are you retelling the story again, Mina-chan?" Motoki asked from the door. Both women jumped and Minako smiled sheepishly at him.

"It's just so…_amazing_ that Mamoru likes Seiya-sama!" she exclaimed, starting to bounce in place again. Makoto started massaging her temples, knowing that today was going to be a rather _long_ day. She sighed and made her way to the front part of the arcade, not wanting to leave it unattended. As she reached the counter, she noticed two figures at the far end, very close to the doors.

"Have you been served?" she asked, walking over. Getting closer, she noticed that the two figures were none other than Taiki and Yaten Kou. Both jumped at her unexpected question, and Yaten shot her a rather poisonous glare. Makoto merely raised an eyebrow, used to the poisonous looks that the other girls would give her when they found out that Motoki was married—to her. It was rather entertaining.

"We have, thank you," he said flatly, turning back to his ice cream dish. Taiki rolled his eyes and gave Makoto an apologetic look. She smiled in return, and motioned that it was all right. Taiki half-smiled in return before putting on a rather long-suffering expression.

"I can't ever take him out in public," he said, sighing. Makoto started to giggle, and Taiki responded with another wry smile—which quickly faded when Yaten elbowed him in the side. Makoto was almost on the floor with laughter at this point, and missed the entrance of the third member of the Three Lights.

"I have returned!" Seiya posed dramatically at the doors and was rather less than amused at the laughter that greeted his entrance. _He_ had thought it was a very Dramatic Moment, but it would appear that it had not been enough to warrant the attention of his fellow band-mates, much to his disgust. Grumbling to himself, he made his way over to where his two "brothers" were sitting, noticing that they were shooting daggers at each other via eyes. He also took in the site of the waitress at the counter doubled over in laughter. "I see I missed a few things for being gone for ten minutes…" he commented dryly, causing all three to jump. Yaten threw up his hands.

"What is it with people and being sneaky today?! Can't a poor guy eat his ice cream in peace?" Seiya got a wicked grin on his face. Taiki, recognizing the expression, frantically made motions with his hands at Seiya behind the other man's back to _not_ bait the silver-haired man, but to no avail, as Seiya merely pretended not to see them.

"I told you that you should've had that operation, Yaten," he drawled. "Then you could be a normal _girl_ eating your ice cream—body as well as spirit!" He watched the shorter man turn five shades of red, before starting the purple end of the spectrum. Seiya raised his eyebrows, deciding to go in for the kill. "Oh, and Yaten? That purple color your face is turning _really_ doesn't match your outfit…" He noted that _that_ vein over Yaten's left eye was pulsing, and decided that it was time for a Strategic Retreat—or run like hell. He bolted for the door, Yaten fast on his heels, cursing Seiya the whole way.

"Seiyaaaaaaaaa!! Stop running so that I can kill you! Get back here you—you…ARGH!! _Seiya_!" could be heard from the street outside. It was followed up by many threats that both Makoto and Taiki wondered if they were anatomically possible—although it would be interesting to see, if Yaten ever got Seiya into _that _position. The cursing faded into the distance as Taiki looked at Makoto calmly.

"So…" he began. "How much will I owe for the sundaes?" They stared at each other for a few more seconds before both burst into laughter.

* * *

"Hello, Usako," Mamoru whispered, kneeling down before his fiancée's grave. His mind was still in uproar over the kiss that was bestowed upon him earlier. He had decided to visit Usagi's grave to see if talking to her would help ease his mind—or at least let him forget for a few moments. The pain was still there; it was always there, though it had eased slightly over the past few years…at least to the point that he could sit at her grave and not try to slit his wrists, although he couldn't face the grave or her name if someone was there. He felt a very gentle breeze blow, almost as though it _was_ Usagi there, letting him know of her presence. He smiled sadly.

"I miss you still, Usako," he murmured, knowing that somehow his dead love could still hear him…somehow. "There isn't a day gone by that I don't miss you. But I also know that you want me to move on, to not be miserable for the rest of my life. So I wanted to tell you about this person I met." He proceeded to tell all about his first experience with Seiya and how he was attracted to her—him. "The funny thing is, Usako, that Seiya isn't female. But I'm _still_ attracted to him. Am I going insane, Usako?" He shook his head slightly, and ironic smile on his face. In his mind, he could almost hear Usagi's replies of not worrying about it, and that he was already insane, so he really couldn't "go" any further in that direction.

Usagi had always possessed a knack of knowing exactly what to say to Mamoru to make him feel better. Whenever he found himself upset while she was alive, she would always give him a rather large hug and then joke until he started laughing. Soon after the laughter came, he briefly would forget why he was upset in the first place, although that didn't always happen. In this case, she probably would cuff him over the head for being so dense about another chance staring him in the face. That was, at least, what she told him before he had started to go out with her friend Rei, after his ex-girlfriend—a rather vicious woman named Beryl—had torn his heart to shreds. He sighed again, tears starting to fill his eyes from the memories. It was then that he heard shouts coming his direction. The shouts seemed to be comprised of swearing and curses that definitely sounded vicious. Mamoru turned—just in time to have his arms full of a black blur.

"Well, Mamoru! What a surprise!" one Seiya Kou said from one shocked Chiba Mamoru's lap. Seiya smiled widely, throwing his arms around the other man's neck, much to Mamoru's embarrassment. "It must be fated! No less than an hour since we last saw each other!"

"Seiya!! Get out here and fight like the idiot you are!" could be heard coming from about 100 feet away. Seiya's smile dropped to a look of panic. He buried his head in Mamoru's chest—again causing the other man to blush—and wailed for Mamoru to protect him.

"He's psycho, Mamoru!! Crazy, I tell you!! Save meeeeee!" His arms tightened, causing Mamoru to be slightly short on air—although his embarrassment could have factored in there somewhere. Looking down at the head of hair currently resting on his chest, he glanced at the gravestone before him.

_Well, Usagi,_ he thought to himself. _What would I have done if it were you and I when Rei or Mina-chan would be chasing you? Ah yes…_Grinning wickedly, Mamoru raised his head slightly and yelled to Yaten.

"Oi! Your friend's over here!" Seiya's eyes widened as he looked at his "protector", and his jaw dropped with disbelief. He shook his head slightly, as though not believing what he had heard before glaring at the man "holding" him.

"You're a very cruel man, Mamoru. A very cruel man." When Mamoru shrugged, still grinning, Seiya shook his head with disgust and got up slowly—only to speed up the process as he heard Yaten approach. "I'll get you for this one, you…ACK!!" he ended up yelling as he caught sight of Yaten. He quickly ran off in the _opposite_ direction. Mamoru watched with amusement as he fled, and started chuckling as Yaten ran past him, pausing to thank him, before taking off at top speed, still yelling at Seiya from the top of his lungs. After the silver head of hair was out of sight, he turned back to Usagi's grave and realized that it was the first time in a long time that he was smiling in her "presence".

"That was him, Usako," he said, shaking his head slowly, smile still firmly in place, although it had taken a slightly sad edge. "I'll admit. Being friends with him would never be dull." The gentle breeze seemed to swirl around him in agreement, and he could swear he could hear Usagi's own laughter in the breeze. It was peculiar how that laughter sounded similar to Seiya's.

* * *

Death threats, mad dashes through the bustling urban jungle, frantic scrambling of ducks and geese out of the way as Seiya ran his ass off to escape the enraged Yaten, who was hell-bent on making the raven-haired man suffer. Oh yes, and suffer _well_. Seiya didn't get it. All he had done was make that comment about Yaten's well being for surgery to woman behind the counter in the arcade…And really, it wasn't _his_ fault if she took it to mean that Yaten was interested in becoming a transvestite. But Yaten apparently didn't see it that way, which was why Seiya was now high-tailing it around Tokyo for their apartment. He thundered up the two flights of stairs and flung open the door, only to hear Impending Doom and his battle cries behind him.

Breathing heavily, Seiya made his way to his bedroom and locked the door, making sure to use the deadbolt that Taiki had so generously installed. The installation had come after a round of practical jokes, the final one being against the brunet himself. It had been a rather ingenious one, Seiya had thought, though it had taken both him _and_ Yaten to accomplish. The truce had come on the heels of Taiki's new "two squares of toilet paper per person" rule. To protest the obvious stupidity of the new regulation, the pair concocted a Devious Plot. Two rolls of twine, a bottle of honey, a bicycle, and a bucket of water later, Seiya had found himself with a deadbolt on his, Yaten, _and_ Taiki's door, courtesy of Taiki himself—though the older man had installed three locks _and_ the deadbolt in his room. While Taiki was installing the locks, Seiya and Yaten had fun nettling him about it.

"It's sad, Yaten, it really is," Seiya would start, making sure his voice carried to his "brother" upstairs. Yaten, noticing Seiya's tone, would soon chip in. If it was one thing Taiki hated, it was dramatics.

"Yes, indeed it is, Seiya. I mean…there's no trust in the world today." The blond would then make a rather good fake sniffle. "It's depressing really." Seiya would nod his head in agreement, patting "poor" Yaten on the back and hand the shorter man a tissue. He then would pretend to wipe his own eyes.

"I mean, it's like he doesn't trust us anymore! His own brothers!!" he would wail, and Taiki would yell down the stairs that they weren't biologically related—it was only by some fluke that they shared last names—and that he _didn't_ trust them.

"And you both very well know _why_, so shut it already!" he would finish with a rather emphatic bang of the hammer—normally right onto his fingers. Mechanically inclined Taiki Kou was not. Seiya and Yaten would laugh hysterically and—

"_Seiya Kou_!!" came a bellow from downstairs.

_And i__t would appear that Yaten is back,_ the raven-haired man thought to himself as he double-checked the lock and deadbolt on his door. He flopped onto his bed and pretended to not be home. It didn't work; less than a minute after the bellowing came the banging—on Seiya's door.

"Seiya! I know you're in there!! Get out here and take your punishment like a man!!" Seiya raised an eyebrow and stared at the door. He shook his head slowly, a slight smile appearing on his face.

_Yaten definitely has some lungs on him,_ he reflected as the man in question kept bellowing at the door. _Either he'll run out of steam or break down the door. I'm thinking the former though, due to the fact that Taiki will have his hide if he breaks down the door again; it'd be the fourth one we'd have to replace this month. _

He grinned at the mental image of Taiki holding Yaten by his braid over their balcony and decided that he'd rather take a nap, given that it had been a rather long day—Yaten-baiting did wear one out so. Closing his eyes, he was fast asleep within minutes—and definitely unaware of the continual pounding on his door.

* * *

Revision 03!

Rosethorn

**Thank you's:**

**Veve:** Thanks! I hope the notes above (points up) cleared up any questions/concerns you have/had about my story!!

**Athena Kyle:** Thanks!! I'm glad that it's not going super-fast or anything. I was actually worried about that. I couldn't help the whole hand-kissing thing or the Haruka thing…actually, the Haruka thing came to me after a discussion with a friend of mine (not the one who made the challenge) about what would happen if Mamoru dated Haruka (assuming Haruka was straight at the time…) Oh geez…I'm seriously blushing here. I just glanced in a mirror and I resemble a damn fire-engine. Thanks (blush)!

**Snoggitz: **Thanks! I'm glad that it's not over-used. Huh…never thought I'd help _start_ a new craze…

**Chou ni Natte:** Thanks!! I had hoped that I'd manage to do this pairing without it being too much of a stretch. They seem to fit—if you move Usagi out of the picture (or bastardize her, which I _refuse_ to do). I'm glad that it doesn't get too melodramatic (glances over the fic) Hm…maybe I should be worried that it's too silly? Oh damn…fire-engine time again! You guys are so sweet!!

**Thunder-Heart:** Thanks! I've noticed the definite absence of Motoki/Makoto fics. It's a bit disappointing actually (sigh). I may write a lot of shounen ai, but when it comes to Sailor Moon, I'm a regular romance girl at heart (this challenge story non-withstanding).

Thanks again to each and every one of you for reviewing!! You have no idea what it means to me!


	4. The Game is On

**Notes: **I want to apologize in the delay of the story. Lot of personal shit going on, so it may be sporadic updates for a bit…Again, my apologies.

**Special Text:** _Text in paragraphsflashbacks_, _text in sentences_thoughts, _text_ in single words onlyemphasis

**Warnings:** Shounen ai…really, if you've gotten _this_ far and hadn't noticed (sighs)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

Life's Little Surprises  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 4: The Game is On

Between a rather long concert tour they had just wrapped up two week ago and the lack of sleep from a _Jeopardy! _board game marathon the night before, all Taiki had wanted was to sit down and enjoy a nice _quiet_ cup of coffee in their new kitchen. Unfortunately his two roommates blocked his sojourn into the tranquil by nearly running him over in the kitchen. First it was Seiya, who had run through the living and dining room into the first door of the kitchen. He watched with a small amount of concern—and a great deal of amused exasperance—as the singer dashed through the second door, back into the living room. Wondering what had set off the pair _now_, he got up, only to have the door near-miss his nose once more.

"_Seiya_!! Get back here!!" And in stomped Yaten, blond hair bristled behind him. He looked at Taiki, wordlessly asking where his arch nemesis had run. Taiki motioned to the second door, somehow managing to keep a straight face; in his mind, it was laugh or cry at this point. Yaten nodded and dashed through the second door, yelling obscenities the whole way. The brunet watched him leave, shaking his head.

It was in the middle of this chaos that the phone rang. Taiki quickly walked over to it and picked it up.

"Yes, hello?" he ventured somewhat tentatively.

"Taiki!" came the overly enthusiastic voice of their agent, Kouji. Taiki winced. "How is my favorite bassist?" He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Seiya had just dashed into the kitchen only to scamper out through the second door once again.

_Five, four, three, two, one…_he mentally counted down. Sure enough, the poor first kitchen door burst open yet again, an irate—and slightly out of breath—Yaten standing in the doorway. He ran across the kitchen only to be grabbed by the collar by Taiki, who had finally lost his patience. Between the exhaustion, Taiki and Seiya, and now _Kouji_—enough was enough.

"What is it you want, Kouji?" he asked, ignoring the cursing that was being thrown his way by the struggling blond. Seiya, not hearing any more threats to his well-being, poked his head back into the kitchen. Taking notice of Taiki and Yaten's positions, he leaned against the doorjamb to watch the byplay.

"Why can't I just be checking up on the well-being of my favorite group of singers?" Taiki rolled his eyes. Yaten, noticing the singer, waved him over with a somewhat gleeful smile on his face, previous spat forgotten. "Kouji," he mouthed. Seiya got a matching grin on his face and made his way over.

"Because you only call when you want something, Kouji," the brunet replied, hand loosening enough that Yaten was able to escape.

"That hurts, Taiki. That really hurts. If I didn't love you guys so much, I'd seriously be offended. My heart is bleeding—"

"What heart?" Taiki interjected, cutting the dramatics short. He could almost feel Kouji glaring at him through the phone, and completely missed the identical grins by his two "brothers."

"Well, if I had one, it'd be seriously hurting right now. Jerk." When Taiki gave no response, the agent sighed. "Anyways, I thought you might want to know that you have a concert—"

"Did I, or did I not make it clear to you that we wanted a vacation until _next_ month, Kouji?" the brunet stated rather than asked, voice turning to ice. At this point, Seiya and Yaten scribbled down bets on how soon the bassist would lose his formidable temper.

"Now don't be like that, Taiki. Besides, it's for a _good_ cause!" Taiki glared at the phone.

"'Good cause?'" the bassist repeated, sarcasm almost dripping from his voice.

"Yes, a good cause!" the agent returned brightly, ignoring the disdain in Taiki's tone. "It's for the local hospital over by you guys. A charity concert if you will." Taiki sighed and massaged his temples. "Come on, Taiki…think of how happy you'll make those ill people…"

"Fine!" the brunet snapped. "When and where?" After receiving the information, he slammed the phone down, only to be greeted by the sight of two sets of eyes looking at him with obviously fake innocence. "What?!" he barked. He then noticed the paper on the table. His face began to turn red with fury. Grinning madly, Yaten and Seiya hi-fived themselves before dashing out of the kitchen. Taiki was in the kitchen. He was incredibly angry. There were knives in the kitchen. Not a good combination.

* * *

"Oi! Mamoru!" Mamoru turned to see one Seiya Kou running over to him as he exited the arcade along with Minako, Makoto, Motoki, Michiru, and Haruka. The last two had been in town for a small concert tour and, to celebrate, they had insisted on hauling all of the rest out for lunch.

"You know him, Mamoru?" Haruka asked, one eyebrow raised. She knew Seiya Kou and got along with him in small doses. However, if they were together more than two minutes, it sometimes tended to get ugly. Mamoru nodded noting the rather nonplussed expression on the blonde's face. He also noticed the restraining hand that Michiru placed on her arm.

_Terrific_, he thought, waving Seiya over. _Haruka knows him and doesn't like him. Wonderful._ He was quickly distracted from his thoughts by an armful of Seiya hugging him tightly. He tentatively returned the hug, a slow blush spreading across his face to the amusement of the girls and Motoki. Seiya finally released Mamoru from his hold, though he found himself already missing the warmth generated by the other man.

"So…" he said, looking up at Mamoru's very blue eyes. "Want to introduce me to your friends?" Minako, taking that as an opening, bounced over.

"Hi! I'm Aino Minako, though everyone calls me 'Mina' ever since I returned from England." Seiya nodded slowly and carefully shook her hand, her obvious enthusiasm scaring him slightly.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said after reclaiming his hand. "I'm—"

"Seiya Kou. Yes, I know," she said, winking at him. He wordlessly looked over to Mamoru for help only to find that his friend was trying not to laugh. Grumbling under his breath about ungrateful boyfriends, he turned back to Mina, who was hauling Makoto over bodily.

"Makoto," the brunette said, smiling warmly. "It is a pleasure to meet you…" she trailed off, unsure of what to call him.

"Seiya," he finished, winking. "All three of my 'brothers' and I have the same first name, so I go by my last." Makoto nodded, slightly red. Motoki chose that moment to step forward.

"Motoki…although I'm sure you remember meeting already," he said dryly, causing the raven-haired man to laugh.

"I do indeed," he replied, casting a sly look in Mamoru's direction, causing the other man to blush. Mamoru quickly decided to introduce Haruka and Michiru before Seiya could manage to make him blush any _more_.

"And these two are—" Seiya's eyes widen.

"Tenou-san? Kaiou-san?" he asked with disbelief. Haruka regarded him coolly.

"Seiya-san," she replied before turning her attention elsewhere, clearly dismissing him. He winced before turning his attention cautiously to Michiru. She smiled warmly at him.

"Call me 'Michiru,' Seiya," she told him. "Since you know Mamoru and we're already friends of his, we should be on first-name terms too, don't you think?" she asked, subtly elbowing Haruka in the side, much to the amusement of everyone else. The blonde sighed and grudgingly said "Haruka" before walking further ahead. Michiru gave him an apologetic look before going after her partner.

"Interesting crowd you hang with, Mamoru," Seiya said finally, the shock of seeing the two musicians wearing off. Mamoru nodded slowly.

"Apparently," he agreed. "Oh, Seiya? We're just heading off to lunch if you'd like to join us…" he offered, glancing at Motoki, who nodded slightly. Seiya looked up at him, eyes slightly wide.

"Really? I…I wouldn't be intruding at all? I mean, I don't want to cause any problems for anyone or anything so—" Mamoru put an arm around Seiya's shoulders, effectively cutting off the shorter man's babbling.

"You wouldn't be an imposition," he said softly. "I really would enjoy having lunch with you," he continued, unsure of what he was saying. He had no idea what was coming out of his mouth…only what he was feeling. It was as if the filter between his mouth and his brain was no longer functioning. Smiling softly, Seiya looked up and found himself lost in Mamoru's deep, blue eyes. Mamoru, for his part, was equally lost in Seiya's now-violet gaze.

"Oi! Are we going to have lunch, or are you two going to make googly-eyes at each other all afternoon?" Haruka yelled from the corner in front of them, effectively ruining the moment and earning a smack alongside the head from Michiru. Mamoru and Seiya jumped apart as if struck by a bolt of electricity. They both decided to ignore the disappointed sighs coming from Makoto and Minako as they continued their walk to the restaurant—though the sighs seemed to vanish for some reason. They discovered later (once they had reached the restaurant), that their hands had somehow become joined.

* * *

"Oi, Taiki!" Yaten said, running to where his friend was standing in the bookstore. He had returned after about an hour to see if Taiki had calmed down. To his surprise, Taiki had asked to go to the mall with him. Of course this was _before _Yaten knew that his friend wanted to go book shopping. It was rather boring waiting for Taiki to find 'the book', so he had gone out to the benches outside the bookstore to people-watch, and had noticed a familiar figure outside the doors of the mall. He had hurried over in time to see Seiya running over to Mamoru.

_Taiki _definitely_ needs to see this_! He had run back to where the bookstore was, and found where Taiki was looking at a book. He deftly took the book from Taiki's hand and bodily hauled the stunned man out the door.

"But, Yaten!" the brunette protested, trying to free himself. "I was about to buy that!"

"This is more important," Yaten informed him before stopping abruptly, almost causing Taiki to crash into him. Yanking his hand free, the bassist scanned the crowd to see what it was that Yaten had found so interesting. He quickly spotted the reason, along with the reason's crush and some of the reason's crush's friends.

"Ah, Seiya-watching are we?" he teased, ruffling the shorter man's hair. Yaten batted Taiki's hands away with an indignant squawk.

"Oi! I just had that done, and I was _not_ 'Seiya-watching', as you so charmingly put it!!" he retorted, trying to fix his now mussed hair. Taiki chuckled, causing the shorter man to glare up at him. Suddenly his eyes filled with a strange glint. He smiled slowly, before opening his mouth to tell Taiki of a plan he had.

"No, Yaten." Taiki stated firmly, knowing _exactly _what his friend was thinking. He grabbed the blonde man's arm and forcefully dragged him _away_ from the direction that Seiya, Mamoru, and the rest had headed. Yaten pouted, lower lip jutting out slightly.

"But…but _Taiki_!!" he whined, causing Taiki to no longer need to clear out his ears of wax.

"_No_!" Yaten sighed and allowed himself to be dragged. He suddenly brightened and opened his mouth. "No," the brunette said, not even turning. Yaten closed his mouth again and glared at the bassist's head. Another idea occurred to him. "No," Taiki once again stated as Yaten opened his mouth. Again, Yaten closed his mouth and decided to resume pouting. His lower lip jutted out further. "Be sure not to trip over it," the brunette said (again, not turning), causing Yaten to throw up his free hand in the air and give up.

"Spoilsport," he muttered, allowing himself to be led away.

* * *

Chapter four revised!

Cheers!

Rosethorn

**Thank you's:**

**Living a life of Sin: **Thanks!! I'm glad you like it so far, and I hope to not disappoint you in future chapters! I'm a Seiya/Usagi person too, believe it or not, so this is a bit of a different slant on things…Motoki/Makoto!! Yes!! I (heart) that pairing!! And there _isn't_ enough of them out there. That and Senshi/General romances. Not enough of _them_ either…at least, not ones that aren't totally angst-ridden. I don't like angst…And the one pairing I like Chibi-Usa in (I mean like Chibi-Usa period), they don't write enough of (Chibi-Usa/Helios)!! (sigh) Ah well, the joys of being a fanfic writer means you can write fics in categories that don't have enough, ne?

**KouHaruka:** Thanks! Y'all are sweet, really! And I'm blushing again, dammit! (mutters about evil blood vessels in her face) I'm glad you like my Seiya/Mamoru fic!! Um…translate it? Wow! Kakkoi ne!! But yeah, I'll do my best to finish it ASAP, but I make no promises…As my notes at the top (points up) stated, I'm kinda going through some personal gunk right now, so it may be a bit.


	5. Domestic Tranquility?

**Notes:** Okay. We have the age old good news and bad news. The good news is that I've gotten a new (and _sooooooooo_ much faster) computer. Bad news? All my data isn't _on_ said computer yet…So I'm still using my dinosaur. Now, that means while I'm using the new pc, updates are going to be a bit more sporadic (actually, probably the same ::shrug::), so…yeah. With any luck, I'll have all data transferred to the new machine soon; I'm getting really tired of switching the monitor, internet, and speakers back and forth…

Oh! Got a question in one review about what I'm going to do with Taiki and Yaten…um…I think I semi-answered that in this chapter.

**Special Text:** _Text in paragraphs equals flashbacks_, _text in sentences _equals thoughts, _text_ in single words only equals emphasis

**Warnings:** Thar be shounen ai in this here fic.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Never will be.

Life's Little Surprises  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 5: Domestic Tranquility?

"Hello again, Usako," Mamoru said, touching the gravestone. He felt—as he often did when visiting—a small breeze pick up. He had gotten used to the strange breeze that always vanished when he was done talking to Usagi. "It's been a while since I came to visit you, I know. It seems every time I think of it, it's pouring rain or snowing or _something_ comes up where I can't. Seiya says that it's a sign that I'm not supposed to do what I had wanted to do. You remember Seiya, right?" The breeze swirled gently around him, causing the flowers scattered around to nod. The raven-haired man smiled.

"I thought you would. I haven't told him about you yet…I'm still just getting to know him." The breeze blew harder at this, making sure to pick up some small rocks and throw them—gently—at Mamoru, as if in protest. The raven-haired man shielded his face with his hands, protesting. "It's just not right yet, Usako! I will tell him, I promise!! I just want to get to know him better first." The breeze gave one last puff before subsiding. Mamoru sighed.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you about the lunch I had with him two days ago?" Nothing. "Oh don't be like that, Usako." Almost grudgingly, the breeze blew softly. Mamoru smiled. "Well," he began, head tilting to the side. "Seiya met us—by us I mean Makoto, Mina, Motoki, Haruka, and Michiru—on our way to have lunch to escape the hordes flocking the arcade…"

_"Sa…" Seiya said, looking over to his friend. "What's new in the world of academia?" Behind him, he could hear Mina choke, and he wondered what it was he had said. He surreptitiously glanced over to the man beside him to see the most pole-axed expression ever gracing a human being on Mamoru's face._

_'Strike one, Kou! Oh yes, I'm doing spectacularly! Foot? Will you carefully insert yourself _out_ of my mouth? Thanks ever so!' he thought to himself grimly._

_"You—you _want_ to know about my profession?" Mamoru asked, clearly stunned and more than a little puzzled. Seiya's eyebrows rose and he nodded slowly. Mamoru shook his head quickly._

_"I think I need my ears checked for wax buildup," the blue-eyed man said, bringing his hand up to bang one ear first, then the other. "I could have sworn you said you actually want to _know_ about what I do." At that point Motoki, his wife, Michiru and Mina were all laughing while Haruka's lips twitched._

_'What did I say?' Seiya asked himself, clearly bewildered now. 'Is it that he rambles on and on about it or does no one ever ask or what?'_

_"No need for the doctor visit, Mamoru!" he said finally, silently willing his voice to _not_ carry the note of uncertainty that somehow slipped through anyway. "I _did_ ask about your career. What is it? Am I not supposed to?"_

_"_No_!" chimed in everyone standing there, with the exceptions of Mamoru (who was beginning to blush), and Haruka (who was busy pretending Seiya didn't exist). Seiya's eyebrows flew up, and his eyes widened._

_"Ok. I get it. No questions about…Mamoru's job in front…of Mamoru's friends," he said, pretending to write down the information on his hand. "Got it." Mina and Makoto both laughed, Motoki soon joining in. Mamoru shot them all a rather dark look. He decided to start talking to Michiru and Haruka instead, much to the amusement of the rest of the group._

_As they finally reached the deli, Seiya glanced over in the direction of the mall and blanched. Mamoru, who had decided to talk to everyone again, gave the other man a concerned look._

_"A horde of fans?" he asked, bracing himself to sprint. Seiya shook his head quickly, causing Mamoru and the others to all let out a sigh of relief._

_"Worse," Seiya then said, causing them all to tense up again. "Yaten." Mamoru turned and sure enough, saw the white-blonde head of the keyboardist. He began to laugh, causing Seiya to glare up at him._

_"It's okay," he said with mock sympathy, patting the singer on the shoulder. "I'll protect you from the big, bad Yaten." Seiya gave him a disgusted look, grabbed Mamoru's hand (still on his shoulder), lifted it, and dropped it off his person. The rest of the group laughed. Glaring at them all, Seiya marched, with as much dignity as he could muster, to the deli—only to trip on a wrapper that was on the sidewalk. He didn't fall, but he might as well have, judging by the laughter he heard behind him. Fuming silently, he plotted Mamoru's revenge—Yaten's too. It was, after all, the blonde's fault that this all _started

"After that, it went pretty much without incident," Mamoru continued, still chuckling. The breeze around him carried the noise of some church bells chiming softly in the distance, sounding much like laughter. He grinned, enjoying the fresh air as well as the feeling of Usagi's "presence" about him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering one last part of the few days previous. "There was the _one_ mishap between Seiya and Haruka…"

_"So, Tenou-san," Seiya asked between bites of his sandwich. "When are you and Kaiou-san going to be performing next?" He gulped to see the glare that the blonde was leveling him. "Erm…scratch that question, Tenou-san…" he said meekly, deciding to continue eating in silence. Michiru, who was watching the whole exchange, rapped Haruka sharply on the arm. The blonde jumped and gave her partner a look that clearly said "what?!"—which Michiru calmly ignored and continued giving Haruka a penetrating stare. The pianist sighed before turning back to Seiya._

_"Next month," she said flatly, turning back towards Michiru, face asking the violinist—rather sarcastically—if she was happy now. Seiya promptly choked on his food._

_"P-pardon?" he asked, after managing to breathe again. The blonde pianist's cool blue eyes frosted over as she glared at him. He swallowed again, ducking his head back to his plate. "Never mind," he murmured, deciding that if he wanted to eat his lunch normally—rather than have it cut off his air supply, or be put in strange, uncomfortable places—he'd better just let everyone else carry on the conversation._

Which doesn't really help me any_, he thought to himself a bit sadly._ I mean, if Mamoru doesn't know that I can carry on an intelligent conversation… _He sighed again and picked at the remainder of his lunch. Michiru once again jabbed her partner in the ribs sharply. Haruka turned and glared before getting up._

_"Seiya-san?" The singer looked up. "A moment, please?" She gestured towards the door. Seiya gulped and nodded weakly._

Well_, he thought nervously._ She won't kill me in front of witnesses…I hope… _They proceed outside, and out of Mamoru's line of sight. In about twenty minutes, they both return, a small smile on Haruka's face, a relieved expression on Seiya's. Mamoru shook his head slightly before deciding to just give up._

"And that, Usagi," Mamoru concluded. "is the whole and eventful tale of lunch with Seiya." Again, he heard the pealing of bells in the distance and grinned. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He paused a moment, frowning slightly. "Ne, Usako? Is it…would you…Oh for heavens sakes! I feel like there's a connection between Seiya and I…and I don't feel like it's the right kind of connection…rather, it's not the connection that I feel I should have with him…" He sighed, running a hand through his midnight hair. "I feel…I feel more connected to him that I've ever been with any other person except you, Usako. It …it frightens and confuses me. I've only just met him!" Sighing again, he turned his blue eyes up to the sky. "Where do I go from here, Usako?" The breeze provided no answer as it gently blew by him.

oOOo()oOOo

"Ne, Taiki?" Yaten asked, walking into the room with a rather large and rather fake smile plastered on his face. The brunette looked up from his new book (that he had managed to _finally_ get!) briefly, noted the blonde's expression, and resumed his reading.

"No, Yaten," he stated flatly. Yaten's eyes began to fill with crocodile tears. He began to sniffle for emphasis, causing the bassist to twitch an eyebrow in annoyance. "I said _no_, Yaten," he declared. Yaten's sniffling got louder. Taiki sighted. Normally the blonde wasn't _this_ persistent about something unless it really mattered to him. Though, if only the blonde would come out and ask _normally_ instead of behaving like the PMS-ing woman Seiya accused him of being! If he were to ask normally, Taiki almost certainly wouldn't have a problem with whatever it was. But not, Yaten had to annoy him to death before Taiki would acquiesce—just to get the keyboardist to _shut up_.

"Oi! Yaten!" a third voice called from upstairs. "You crying over a broken nail or are you just badgering Taiki to do something for you again?" The blonde's pity-part abruptly halted, much to Taiki's relief.

_For that_, he thought. _I'll make sure that his revenge is less harsh than Yaten's._ The revenge, of course was for the bets Yaten and Seiya had made that day that the Three Lights' agent had called. Granted, Taiki wasn't planning on doing anything _major_, just springing a leak in Yaten's waterbed, and setting Seiya's alarm clock ahead by four hours. Originally, he was going to rubber cement Seiya's sheets together, but after the singer had saved him from a rather nasty migraine, Taiki had amended the plans.

"By the abrupt silence," Seiya drawled, voice growing louder as he descended the stairs. "I believe I can safely assume that it was the latter." The blonde glared at him, his hair almost spiking in vexation. Seiya gave him an amused look. "So what was it this time, Yaten? Beauty secrets? Extra money for a makeover?" Yaten's face was turning a rather interesting combination of red and violet.

"You…" he growled, his finger shaking before him. "You…" As steam began to come out of the keyboardist's ears, Seiya decided it was time to yet again take a strategic retreat.

"HeyTaikigottagobeforeYatendecidestokillmewithhisbrandnewnailsthathejustgotmanicured!" he yelled as he dashed out the door, Yaten still standing there sputtering. Taiki merely nodded before turning the page in his book. Glancing up again, he chuckled at the sight of his friend.

"Ne, Yaten?" The blonde glared down at him. Taiki merely raised an eyebrow. "Now, it seems to me that in his last sentence, Seiya said you had just gotten a manicure…" he trailed off innocently, watching with glee as Yaten fumed more.

"Why that—_Seiya_!!" With a battle cry, the keyboardist quickly ran for the door and quickly followed his friend outside, yelling obscenities all the way. Taiki reflected with some irony the fact that while Yaten hated to run, he had no problem chasing two or more miles after Seiya when the singer had gotten him riled up. Not only that, the chases allowed Yaten to stay slim and trim, though the blonde hardly needed to worry about the exercise the way he ate. Yaten tended to pick as his food, which was why Taiki made great pains to make something that his friend was more inclined to eat. Seiya he didn't need to worry about; the man was a bottomless pit. But Yaten…

Biting his lower lip, Taiki put his book down for a moment as he brooded. It hadn't escaped his notice that Yaten had gotten a lot thinner. Hell, you could almost cut paper with the keyboardists chin now! The clothes that were once skin-tight on the blonde were now becoming incredibly loose…He'd have to talk to Yaten later. Granted, if it were something serious like anorexia or bulimia, Yaten would not admit to it. He just rant and rave at Taiki until the brunette would give up and go away. Taiki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

On the other hand, his friend had always maintained a rather high metabolism. When they were younger, Yaten rivaled Seiya in the "bottomless pit" department, and unlike Seiya, wouldn't gain an ounce from anything he ate. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Taiki came to the conclusion that, while it was probably nothing serious, he was going to talk to his friend and make Yaten aware of his concerns. Despite appearances, Yaten _did_ care about his "brothers'" happiness—he just hid it well.

_Well_, he thought as he got up. _I _do_ have a waterbed to "adjust"_… A positively _evil_ smile graced the bassist's face as he made his way to Yaten's room to execute the plan that he had gotten, irony of ironies, from the very book that the blonde had helped him find again in the mall. Of course, Yaten didn't know that…and with any luck, after this debacle with Seiya, he'd blame the singer, rather than Taiki.

_After all_, Taiki thought with no small amount of self-satisfaction. _Where would the fun be if he thought it were _me

oOOo()oOOo

Owari for this chapter! Feedback would be most appreciated (do I even need to state that?)

Cheers!

Rosethorn

**Thank you's:**

**Kou Haruka:** Thank you!! Um…thank you for all the reviews ::sweatdrops:: You're one of my more persistent reviewers ::laughs:: I don't mind though. It means that I need to get off my butt and get some work done, ne? Well, in any rate, I'm glad that you like the entire story so far. I hope this chapter lives up!

**Chou ni Natte:** Thank you! Coffee and laughing sometimes has a truly amazing combination. I have this friend who gets super-bouncy off of laughing…only. Period. It's kinda scary at times, but I love her anyway ::laughs:: Anyways, I'm glad you like it so far!!

**DarkParis: **Thank you!! Don't worry about someone else creating a Seiya/Mamoru fanfic! Do one yourself if that's what you dream of doing!!

::scrolls through the rest of Kou Haruka's reviews to reach the next reviewer::

**tenchisailor: **Thank you! Yes, it's an oddball pairing, I know, but it's kinda fun to write actually…For their relationship…I think opposites can attract. That doesn't mean that all will go well for them there. There'll be a few fights, but if you really care about the person, you'll find a way somehow to make it work. As for a rebound…not really. Mamoru fights getting together with Seiya (as you can see when he's talking to Usagi), so I think he'll see Seiya as Seiya. ::passes out tissues:: I know it's sad about Usagi-chan dying, but like I've said previously: it was either that or bastardize her. I picked a more flattering option.

**mamoruUSA: **Thank you!! I'm more of a U/S person myself…::shrug:: To each their own, ne? I'm glad you like this story!! Bad guy or girl? Right now I'm leaning towards Mamoru's grief being the enemy in this case. That and his sense of loyalty to the now-deceased Usagi. As for Taiki and Yaten…um…that'd be spoiling it. That's it. ::sweatdrops:: In all honesty, I'm not _quite_ sure yet, although I'm 80 sure of what I'm going to do with them…


	6. The Masks Comedy and Tragedy

**Notes: **I realize that Mamoru and Seiya's relationship may be moving a bit slowly, but rest assured, it _will_ come to fruition. I mean, Mamoru _did_ love Usagi a lot. There's also the fact that falling for Seiya gives Mamoru an orientation crisis (sort of). So with all of that to consider, I give you _Life's Little Surprises_ chapter six.

One other thing: blatant reference to _Garasu no Kamen_ in here. I used it because I figured that the plays in the manga might be plays that would be performed. You don't have to have any idea _what_ GnK is, so don't worry. Just wanted to mention for us die-hard fans that it was in here.

**Warnings:** Shounen ai/yaoi

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it.

Life's Little Surprises  
By Rosethorn

Chapter 6: The Masks - Comedy and Tragedy

"Oi! Mamoru!! Hurry _up_, will you? I want to make it to the show before I grow ancient and whither, you know!" Seiya yelled back to Mamoru, who was walking at a very slow and sedate pace. The professor shook his head in amusement. The singer had invited him to go and see a stage performance that was in town. Supposedly there was a new actress that was taking the stage by storm. Kitajima Maya, if memory served. He had never known just how much into the theatre the other man was until he found himself inundated with invitations to go see this play or that musical. It was rather fun, actually. It was also—coincidentally—something he and Usagi had never gotten a chance to do, so the fun was untainted in any way by sorrowful memories.

"Mou, _Mamoru_!!" the singer yelled again, running back to where his friend stood, having stopped walking entirely, lost in his thoughts. He grabbed the professor's arm and pulled strongly, dragging the larger man with him in his eagerness to get to the theatre. Mamoru laughed while he pretended that he did _not_ enjoy the feel of Seiya's hand pulling him along.

"Ne, Seiya…the theatre will not sprout legs and walk out of the town, you know," he stated dryly. The singer turned and pierced him with a rather determined gaze. Mamoru swallowed from the intensity. Seiya had been looking at him like that for a long time now. He was starting to wonder what was going through the singer's mind at times like those, as it did strange things to him.

As they finally reached the theatre, Mamoru continued puzzling to himself just what it was about the singer that made him feel more…alive. He decided that it must have been the love of life that Seiya showed day in and day out. He always seemed to be living life as though it was his last day alive, and he wanted to make the most of it. Though if what he had read about the singer was true, then Seiya had every right to want to live each day to the fullest. The headlines flashed again in his mind:

_Singer Hospitalized for Stabbing from Fan of Rival Group_ was one. _Will the Singer of the "Three Lights" Sing Again? _was another. There were more along the same lines, but those two grabbed his eyes the most. Apparently a rival group, _Turbulence_, had one rather obsessed fan—one that wanted the _Three Lights_ gone. Said fan targeted Seiya, thinking that if the singer was gone, then the group would disband, which wasn't that far-fetched. But Seiya had survived, though it was dicey for a few days; the stiletto had nicked his heart and seriously damaged his left lung. Doctors were all telling him that stage performing would be too strenuous for him to undertake; Seiya ignored them. He made an almost complete recovery, and resumed the group's tours, much to everyone's amazement—including Mamoru's, after reading the articles. By rights, the impatient man in front of him shouldn't be able to do many of the physical activities—including the many sprints away from Yaten. Chuckling, he returned to his attention to the man in question, who was staring at him with a confused expression.

"Inside joke," Mamoru said, cheeks flushing lightly. Seiya raised an eyebrow, but said nothing in response.

They reached the play mostly intact. Mamoru had a slight pain in his shoulder from Seiya tugging on his arm constantly, but that was a minor enough annoyance that he could ignore it. Getting inside the theatre, they found their seats, Seiya jokingly whispering complaints about the fact that he wouldn't be able to see or hear _anything _from where they sat. At one point Mamoru began to move his hand to cover the singer's mouth—an act he had done many times in the past when…In any rate, he stopped himself before he could complete the act, turning his attention back to the orchestra pit and musicians, who were tuning their instruments. The play itself was well done, though Mamoru was tense throughout—something that Seiya picked up on. The singer frowned slightly, looking over at his friend. Putting a hand on Mamoru's shoulder, he leaned in and asked if the other man was feeling well. Mamoru jerked in his seat, away from Seiya. Snapping in a whisper that he was fine, he stayed in the same position—as far away from the singer as possible—for the rest of the play. He began to relax and enjoy himself, taking the occasional glance at the man in the seat next to him. Seiya also appeared to have gotten absorbed into the play and looked relaxed as well. It wasn't until after the play that Mamoru noticed that Seiya's footsteps were more subdued. Frowning, he tugged on the singer's ponytail.

"Hey!" Seiya yelled. "What the hell was _that_ for?" Mamoru raised an eyebrow.

"You looked upset. I was merely trying to…distract you," he drawled, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. Seiya swallowed.

'He honestly has no idea what he does to me…' he thought to himself. 'How is it that I know he'll _never_ feel that way about me, yet he can _still_ affect me so much?! Is this how the Fates have decided to punish me for some major transgression in a past life?' Mamoru had noticed how silent his friend had become yet again.

"Oi," he said, reaching out to tweak the singer's ponytail once more, when Seiya turned towards him abruptly.

"I just realized something I need to do, Mamoru," he said apologetically. Mamoru frowned.

"But—"

"I know it's unexpected, but I really need to go," Seiya interrupted, smiling weakly. "Rain check for lunch? I'll buy!" Mamoru sighed and nodded.

"Yes, that's fine." Seiya nodded curtly and turned to leave.

"And, Seiya?" Mamoru called, effectively stopping the singer's flight. "When whatever it is that's wrong isn't any longer, call me." Seiya turned again just in time to see a rather sad expression cross the blue-eyed man's face.

"Mamoru…" he murmured and began to walk towards his friend, but Mamoru held up his hand.

"When you're feeling better," he repeated. He then grinned. "Besides, you owe me dinner, ne?" Seiya gave a lop-sided smile in response.

"Guess I do…Just try not to make me go bankrupt, will you?" Mamoru laughed softly. "Later, Mamoru!" the singer called, turning and walking down the street.

* * *

Taiki looked up from his book at the sound of the door opening. Yaten, head on the brunette's lap, yawned and stretched. They both watched silently as a black and red blur ran past them and slammed a door somewhere down the hallway. Taiki looked down at the blonde in his lap, an eyebrow raised. Yaten's lips thinned into a line.

"Mamoru," he said flatly, sitting up. Taiki nodded in agreement, face growing cold.

"I think I need to have a…talk with this 'Mamoru'," he stated frostily. If Seiya was in any position to hear the brunette's voice, he and Yaten would gleefully begin taking bets on how many words it would take to reduce the recipient to a quivering, terrified heap. This time however, Yaten knew that it would only worsen whatever problems Seiya and Mamoru were having so he put a restraining hand on Taiki's arm. Taiki turned slightly, frowning.

"It won't help," the blonde murmured softly. "If anything, it will just make things worse. Right now, Chiba-san is Seiya's friend. If we were to interfere, he may not be even that—and that would absolutely _devastate_ Seiya, ne?" Taiki's frown deepened, but he sighed, agreeing.

"I heard that," Seiya's voice called from the hallway. He soon appeared in the living room, hair down while he was brushing it. Yaten found himself wishing that he hadn't restrained the brunette from doing anything to Mamoru, as Seiya only brushed his hair four times: when he got up, when he went to bed, when he would get out of the shower—and when he was really upset. He got up and took the brush from the singer's hands, motioning for Seiya to sit down on a chair. He resumed the rhythm of brushing, allowing Seiya to begin to relax.

"Care to tell me what happened?" Taiki asked, readjusting his position on the couch. Seiya looked in his friend's direction and sighed.

"You're always telling me I'm obvious, right?" Taiki nodded, dreading where the conversation was heading already. "Well…Mamoru doesn't seem to notice. Or if he has, he doesn't want to act on it, which is worse! I just…I don't know what to do any more, Taiki!" he exclaimed finally, burying his head in his hands. "I'm the happiest when I'm around him, and I think about him all the time. I…I've never felt like this around _anyone_ before and…"

"And?" Yaten prompted, beginning to put Seiya's hair into a braid.

"And I don't know if I can just remain friends with him…" the raven-haired man finished softly, a lone tear slipping down his cheek. Yaten bit his lip, looking at Taiki over his friend's head. Taiki immediately got down off the couch and drew his friend to him.

"What's happened now?" Yaten asked softly, finishing the braid. Seiya's shoulders hunched further and he gave what sounded like a small sob.

"He…he doesn't notice me!" the singer cried. "All he does is think of me as just a _friend_, and then he acts like we're _more_ than friends. And when he realizes _that_, then he goes and visits his fiancée's grave!" His breathing began to get more ragged as sobs took over. "How the _hell_ am I supposed to compete with a _dead_ woman?!" With that, he broke down completely, collapsing in Taiki's arms. Yaten came around the chair and sat on the arm, hugging the singer close to him as well. Seiya's entire body shook from the sobs. It was then that the doorbell rang.

Yaten glared at the offending sound, wishing that whoever was behind the door would die a very slow and very painful death. Sighing, he gave Seiya one last squeeze before getting up to answer it. Peering through the peep-hole, he cursed under his breath. Mamoru. Great. He turned towards the living room, biting his lip. Seiya's sobbing was much quieter, and from the sound of it, almost finished. But Mamoru was the one responsible _for_ his sobbing, so he shouldn't be let in…but then again, would Seiya get royally pissed if Yaten just left him on the doorstep? The doorbell rang again, causing the blonde to jump.

"Who is it?" Seiya asked, his voice rough from crying. Yaten grimaced.

"The whole reason for your rather bedraggled appearance," the blonde replied, sighing. "I don't particularly want him here with you in this state," he said sourly, glaring at the door. Seiya looked down for a moment before shrugging. Sighing again, Yaten opened the door, glaring at the person on the steps. "What do you want?" he snapped. Mamoru looked decidedly taken aback at the sight of the smaller man's rather fierce expression. He absently wondered if he had the right address. But Minako had assured him that this _was_ the residence of one Seiya Kou, so he must be here.

"Er…hi," he said hesitantly. "Is Seiya there?" The blonde's green eyes narrowed further. He opened his mouth to say some scathing comment when, a hand appeared on his shoulder and Seiya's head appeared in front of Yaten.

"Hey, Mamoru," he said, bringing himself around the keyboardist. Yaten grumbled under his breath and moved back inside, but not before giving Mamoru one final glare. The older man visibly swallowed at the violence he read in the gaze. He gave Seiya a tentative smile and a small wave. Seiya gave a small wave back.

"Am I interrupting something?" Mamoru ventured carefully, an eyebrow rising of its own will. Yaten, hearing the question, opened his mouth to deliver a rather acidic retort when Taiki quickly clamped his hand over the blonde's mouth. Green eyes glared up at the brunette in frustration.

"Seiya wouldn't appreciate our interference, remember," Taiki drawled, bending over to whisper the words in Yaten's ear. The blonde turned a slight shade of pink at the closeness of his friend. He quickly pulled away, running a shaky hand through his somewhat mussed hair.

"I hate it when you do that," he groused, embarrassed by the attention. Taiki grinned smugly.

"I know," he replied brightly, grabbing the blonde's arm and hauling him bodily _back_ into the living room. He knew that the blonde would give him hell for it later—and he'd suck it up and deal with it—but he also knew that Seiya needed time alone with Mamoru. Besides, if the man hurt his friend one more time, he'd be easier to catch. Plus he'd get the added bonus of Yaten going full-throttle.

Seiya watched his friends' departure with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. _You guys are so not subtle_, he thought to himself, mentally shaking his head. Sighing, he turned his attention back towards the man in front of him.

"Not at all, Mamoru," he stated tiredly, a wan smile appearing. "Yaten's just PMS-ing again."

"Am not!" came the loud shout from the living room. Seiya's smile became brighter.

"Sure you are!" he yelled back. "You're pissy and you're male. It's a syndrome. PMS. Though I sometimes wonder about the other one in regards to you…" he trailed off, feeling slightly guilty over making Taiki's task with the blonde more difficult. Only slightly however; there _was_ the matter of the jello mouse in his bed two nights ago to consider after all. He had thought that a _real_ mouse had crawled into his bed and died—while he was sleeping.

"I say nothing," Mamoru stated softly, eyes wide, staring in the general direction of the living room as a loud, and rather creative bout of cursing erupted from said room—most of it revolving around Seiya, or rather, Seiya's sexual habits and questionable parentage. Along with a few other comments that made the older man wonder if those particular positions were anatomically possible. Seiya merely rolled his eyes and mouthed to Mamoru "drama queen". Mamoru chuckled quietly. Seiya's eyes dimmed for a moment before he grabbed Mamoru's sleeve and headed for the door.

"I'm going out for a bit," he called behind him, knowing that Taiki would prevent Yaten from following and exacting his revenge. "I'll hopefully be back for dinner—and Yaten? It's your turn tonight! I recommend you do _not_ try to use the cooking oil again. If you forget why I'm requesting this, think back to last week when you nearly caught your hair on fire." With that, he quickly pulled Mamoru out of the apartment and closed the door, just in time to cut of the bellow of "_Seiya_!!" that had erupted from within. Giggling softly, the singer turned towards Mamoru, an eyebrow raised. The other man merely gestured out in front of him, indicating for Seiya to walk wherever. Rolling his eyes, the singer walked briskly towards the nearest store; he figured if he didn't pick _something_ up for Yaten to cook, they'd all end up with food poisoning—though his food might be poisoned anyways, judging by the amount of yelling he could still hear from the apartment. Mamoru found himself jogging to catch up.

"Ne, Seiya," he said after a long moment of silence. "Why didn't you call?" The raven-haired man in front of him stopped abruptly enough that he nearly crashed into him.

"You said to call when whatever it was that was bothering me was solved," Seiya replied somewhat coolly. "It hasn't been solved yet." Mamoru's brow furrowed slightly in confusion.

"Is there something I can do then?" he asked finally. Seiya whirled around and glared at him.

"Stop treating me like a leper when I do this," he replied hotly, reaching out and placing his hand on Mamoru's arm. Or tried to. Mamoru had shrunk away from the touch, causing Seiya's hand to reach only air. Sighing, he let his hand drop back to his side, turning away from Mamoru once again. Noticing the slump of his friend's shoulders, Mamoru felt his heart tug, and he walked the few steps between them to place a hand on the singer's shoulder.

"Seiya…" he murmured before the other man's hand grabbed his and pulled him firmly around until he was in front of the singer. Without relinquishing his hold, Seiya pulled Mamoru closer, his other hand coming up to the back of the taller man's neck. Leaning up, he firmly pressed his lips to Mamoru's. He felt the older man begin to respond before shoving away roughly. Eyes wild, Mamoru turned and ran away from the singer. As he felt his heart breaking all over again, Seiya noticed that was beginning to rain.

_Huh. It would figure that it would rain after a Dramatic Moment like this, wouldn't it. So much for not dripping on the carpet when I go back in._ He was also grateful that the rain hid the tears, hot and painful, that were sliding down his face.

* * *

Okay…that's all for this chapter. I know that it's a really horrid spot to leave off, but I liked ending it here.

**Thank you's:**

**Kou Haruka: **Thanks for hanging in there (if you're still there…)!! I hope that this chapter was worth the wait!

**MidKnight:** Thanks! As for all the triangles, as I recall, Minako had a thing for Yaten, so I might bring that fangirl-ness into play. Not sure yet. Makoto is already married to Motoki, so that's taken care of…:thinks:

**tenshisailor:** Thanks for staying with me!! I've updated! Hope that this chapter will help somewhat…

**CaptKirk:** Thanks! So far so good on the flames front :crosses fingers: It would always irritate me when you would have a fanfic that had nothing but Seiya and Mamoru fighting—normally over Usagi. They're similar enough that they might be able to connect if they gave each other a chance. At least in the anime they could…They didn't meet in the manga. At least, I don't _think_ they did. :sigh: I think I'm going to have to dig it out now…

**PsychoUsagi: **Thanks!! Yeah, it was a challenge that a friend of mine saddled me with. One that seems to have gotten a life of its own… As for Haruka, that talk they had will come to a better light later on…


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